But Facebook disputes UK and Germany claims, insists it complies with data law.

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Update, November 17: Facebook has stopped sharing WhatsApp user data across Europe, after it was forced to respond to regulatory pressure in the UK and Germany.

In late October, data watchdogs across the 28-member-state bloc who sit on the Article 29 Working Group urged Facebook "not to proceed with the sharing of users' data until the appropriate legal protections can be assured."

According to the Financial Times, Facebook halted data sharing with WhatsApp across the continent last week.

Facebook has paused the data slurp of WhatsApp for its advertising business but is still sharing info to help fight spam.

It told the newspaper: "We hope to continue our detailed conversations with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office and other data protection officials, and we remain open to working collaboratively to address their questions."

Original story (November 8)

Facebook has suspended its WhatsApp data guzzle in the UK, after the Information Commissioner's Office warned that it was mulling action if it found that the free content ad network had failed to seek valid consent from its users.

"We’ve set out the law clearly to Facebook, and we’re pleased that they’ve agreed to pause using data from UK WhatsApp users for advertisements or product improvement purposes," said information commissioner Elizabeth Denham late on Monday.

She added that, after an eight week-long look at WhatsApp's reverse ferret, concerns still remained about lax consumer protection. Denham said:

I don’t think users have been given enough information about what Facebook plans to do with their information, and I don’t think WhatsApp has got valid consent from users to share the information.

I also believe users should be given ongoing control over how their information is used, not just a 30 day window.

WhatsApp told users in the summer that they would have just a month to decide if they were willing to accept the data slurp. The move prompted outrage among some of its users, while many more may simply have accepted the terms when prompted without reading the small print.

The messaging app and Facebook have been asked by the ICO to sign an undertaking to explain to customers how their data will be used. The watchdog also wants users to be given "ongoing control" of their information on WhatsApp.

Denham said that users should have "an unambiguous choice," and added that "consumers deserve a greater level of information and protection, but so far Facebook and WhatsApp haven’t agreed. If Facebook starts using the data without valid consent, it may face enforcement action from my office."

Further Reading

Facebook's European headquarters are in Ireland—which means the Irish data authority is the nearest responsible information watchdog outside of the firm's US base.

Denham said that her office planned to work closely with the Irish data protection commissioner to try to secure a better agreement with Facebook.

If the ICO does take action against Facebook, small fines could follow. However, come 2018 when the European Union's data protection law is expected to come into force, penalties meted out to data rule breakers could be as high as four percent of a company's global turnover.

We will be members of the EU in 2018 and therefore it would be expected and quite normal for us to opt into the GDPR and then look later at how best we might be able to help British business with data protection while maintaining high levels of protection for members of the public.

Further Reading

Facebook, in response to the ICO's concerns, claimed that WhatsApp's privacy policy and terms offered users a "simple explanation of how the service works, as well as choice over how their data is used."

It added: "These updates comply with applicable law, and follow the latest guidance from the UK Information Commissioner's Office. "We hope to continue our detailed conversations with the ICO and other data protection officials, and we remain open to working collaboratively to address their questions."